Syrian Armed Opposition Arrives in Astana for 9th Round of Talks

USA representatives will not take part in the global meeting in Astana on the settlement in Syria, Kazakh Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anuar Zhainakov told reporters on Monday, TASS reports.

The ninth round of peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Syria began in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.

Monday's talks are the first time the three guarantors have met since Iran launched rockets into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last week, prompting the fiercest Israeli attack on Syria since the start of the war.

Although the USA had sent a delegation to eight previous rounds of talks in Astana, it did not send observers to the latest negotiations.

A rebel delegation was expected to arrive ahead of Tuesday's plenary session concluding the meeting, he wrote on Telegram.

. The UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura is expected in Astana today. "The economically important land, with many oil and gas fields, is now controlled by the United States and its allies", he said.

After the talks, Zarif praised the "excellent cooperation" between Moscow and Tehran and said Lavrov had promised him to "defend and keep the agreement" in comments reported by the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Thousands of rebels and their families had already been bused to Idlib and other opposition-held parts of northern Syria as part of a Russian-brokered evacuation deal in recent days.

Their departure means that militants from the Islamic State group fighting on the outskirts of Damascus are now the main challenge to government control over the capital and its surrounding area.

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